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From the ECS State Policy Database 2005 State Policies / Activities

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Education Commission of the States • 700 Broadway, Suite 810 • Denver, CO 80203-3442 • 303.299.3600 • fax 303.296.8332 • www.ecs.org

The following summary includes policies enacted in 2005. This database is made possible by your state's fiscal support of the Education Commission of the States (ECS). Most entries are legislative, although rules/regulations and executive orders that make substantive changes are included. Every effort is made to collect the latest available version of policies; in some instances, recent changes might not be reflected. For expediency purposes minimal attention has been paid to style (capitalization, punctuation) and format. To view the documents, click on the blue triangle next to the topic of interest. To view all, press the button located at the top labeled "Expand All." Please cite use of the database as: Education Commission of the States (ECS) State Policy Database, retrieved [date]. State Status/Date Level Summary Accountability Accountability--Accreditation Accountability--Measures/Indicators Accountability--Reporting Results Accountability--Rewards Accountability--Sanctions/Interventions Accountability--Sanctions/Interventions--No Pass No Drive Accountability--Sanctions/Interventions--Takeovers Accountability--School Improvement Adult Basic Education Assessment Assessment--Accommodations Assessment--Computer Based Assessment--End-of-Course Assessment--Formative/Interim Assessment--High Stakes/Competency Assessment--Value Added At-Risk (incl. Dropout Prevention) At-Risk (incl. Dropout Prevention)--Alternative Education At-Risk (incl. Dropout Prevention)--Drugs/Alcohol Attendance Attendance--Compulsory Attendance--Statutory Ages (Upper and Lower) Attendance--Truancy Background Checks Bilingual/ESL Career/Technical Education Career/Technical Education--Career Academies/Apprenticeship Cheating Choice of Schools--Charter Schools Choice of Schools--Charter Schools--Charter Districts Choice of Schools--Charter Schools--Closings Choice of Schools--Charter Schools--Cyber Charters Choice of Schools--Charter Schools--Finance Choice of Schools--Charter Schools--Research Choice of Schools--Choice/Open Enrollment Choice of Schools--Magnet or Specialized Schools Choice of Schools--Tax Credits Choice of Schools--Vouchers Civic Education Civic Education--Character Education Civic Education--Pledge of Allegiance Class Size Counseling/Guidance Curriculum Curriculum--Arts Education Curriculum--Censorship Curriculum--Core Curriculum Curriculum--Drivers Education Curriculum--Environmental Education Curriculum--Family Living Education Curriculum--Financial Literacy/Economics Ed. Curriculum--Foreign Language/Sign Language Curriculum--Health/Nutrition Education Curriculum--International Education Curriculum--Language Arts Curriculum--Mathematics Curriculum--Multicultural Curriculum--Physical Education Curriculum--Science Curriculum--Sex Education Curriculum--Social Studies/History Data-Driven Improvement Demographics--Enrollments Desegregation Economic/Workforce Development Education Research Equity Finance Finance--Adequacy/Core Cost Finance--District Finance--Equity Finance--Facilities Finance--Federal Finance--Funding Formulas Finance--Litigation Finance--Local Foundations/Funds Finance--Lotteries Finance--Resource Efficiency Finance--State Budgets/Expenditures Finance--Student Fees Finance--Taxes/Revenues Finance--Taxes/Revenues--Alternative Revenues Governance Governance--Deregulation/Waivers/Home Rule Governance--Ethics/Conflict of Interest Governance--School Boards IL Signed into law 08/2005 P-12 School Board Members and Group Health Insurance H.B. 881 -- Board Member Health Insurance Clarifies that nothing in statute may preclude an elected school board member from participating in a group health insurance program provided to an employee of the school district that the board member serves if the board member is a dependent of that employee... More... IL Signed into law 07/2005 P-12 Student Representation S.B. 1638 Allows a board of school directors (except for the Chicago board of education) to appoint a student to the board to serve in an advisory capacity. The student member is to serve for a term as determined by the board. The board may not grant the student member ... More... LA Signed into law 07/2005 P-12 Public Comment in Large Districts H.B. 252 Exempts any school board in a parish containing a municipality with a population of 400,000 or more from the requirement that the school board allow public comment prior to taking any vote and preceding each agenda item at board meetings. Provides instead that... More... NC Signed into law 07/2005 P-12 Public Comment Period H.B. 635 Requires at least one public comment period per month at a regular meeting of a local board of education, county board of commissioners, or municipal governing board. http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/Sessions/2005/Bills/House/HTML/H635v5.html... More... NY Signed into law 07/2005 P-12 Training for Board Members H.B. 6082 One section requires every trustee or voting member of a board of education of a school district or a board of cooperative educational services, elected or appointed for a term beginning on or after July first, two thousand five, shall, within the first year... More... NY Signed into law 07/2005 P-12 Student Representatives on School Boards H.B. 88 Provides that there may be more than one student representative on a school board and for the manner of their selection.... More... TX Signed into law 06/2005 P-12 Military Board Members S.B. 144 Current state law does not permit military officers to serve on the school boards of military reservation school districts, which is inconsistent with federal policy. S.B. 144 amends the Texas Education Code to authorize the state board to appoint military off... More... GA Signed into law 05/2005 P-12 Insurance, Retirement and Other Benefits for School Board Members S.B. 98 States that local boards of education are authorized to expend local funds for life, disability, and liability insurance, retirement and pension coverage, social security coverage, and similar benefits for members of such local boards of education who elect to... More... OR Signed into law 05/2005 P-12 Potential Conflict of Interest H.B. 2443 Amends the prohibition of district employees or charter school employees from serving as a board member in that district. Allows a district employee or public charter school employee to serve if: (a) The person is employed by the district or public charter sc... More... VT Signed into law 05/2005 P-12 Board Vacancies H.B. 201 Stipulates that the school board instead of the selectboard is to fill a vacancy on a town or union school board. If a town does not have a school board, the town's selectboard is to appoint a person who is otherwise eligible to serve as a director from that d... More... AR Signed into law 04/2005 P-12 School Districts' Employment of Board Members' Relatives H.B. 1867 An act to restrict school districts from employing relatives of board members. http://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/ftproot/bills/2005/public/HB1867.pdf... More... AR Signed into law 04/2005 P-12 School Board of Directors H.B. 2517 Increases from six to nine the number of hours of training that a newly elected member of a school board of directors is required to obtain following election. Specifies that every local board member who has served for at least 12 consecutive months must compl... More... AR Signed into law 04/2005 P-12 County Boards of Education H.B. 1701 Repeals county boards of education. http://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/ftproot/bills/2005/public/hb1701.pdf... More... AR Signed into law 04/2005 P-12 Odd Number of Members on Local Boards S.B. 1044 (sections 11-13) Bars all local boards from having an even number of members, regardless of prior annexation or consolidation agreements. Requires any resultant change in the number of members on a local school board to be effective upon the directors' taking office following ... More... AR Signed into law 04/2005 P-12 Election of School District Boards of Directors S.B. 1044 (section 32) Repeals Arkansas Code § 6-14-120 pertaining to the election of school district boards of directors. http://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/ftproot/bills/2005/public/sb1044.pdf... More... AZ Signed into law 04/2005 P-12 Governing Boards H.B. 2368 Repeals provision granting a school district and its employees immunity from civil liability for the consequences of the good faith adoption and implementation of policies and procedures relating to the health and safety of all pupils participating in district... More... AR Signed into law 03/2005 P-12 School Election Code H.B. 2468 Amends sections of the Arkansas code pertaining to school elections. Specifies that the annual school election may concern only issues authorized to be on the ballot by the Arkansas Constitution or by statute and no other issues shall appear on the ballot. Per... More... AR Signed into law 03/2005 P-12 School District Auditors H.B. 2700 Requires school district auditors to comply with the requirements and prohibitions of the federal Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002. http://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/ftproot/bills/2005/public/HB2700.pdf... More... KY Signed into law 03/2005 P-12 Postsec. Open Meetings and Open Records Information H.B. 77 Requires the attorney general to distribute Open Meetings and Open Records Act information to local government officials, superintendents of public school districts, and presidents of public universities. Requires superintendents and presidents of public unive... More... KY Signed into law 03/2005 P-12 Roles of School Councils, Local Boards and Superintendents in Achieving State Education Goals H.B. 93 (Section 1, paragraphs 8-10) (8) School councils at all school levels are encouraged to identify and allocate resources to qualified teachers to become coaches or mentors in mathematics or coaches or mentors in reading with a focus on improving student achievement in their respective scho... More... ND Signed into law 03/2005 P-12 School Board Power S.B. 2226 Relates to the power of school boards to lease equipment, furniture, supplies and textbooks; and dismiss district personnel. http://www.state.nd.us/lr/assembly/59-2005/bill-text/FARU0300.pdf... More... SD Signed into law 03/2005 P-12 Local Officials S.B. 171 Prohibits certain officials from voting if a conflict of interest exists. http://legis.state.sd.us/sessions/2005/bills/SB171enr.pdf... More... UT Signed into law 03/2005 P-12 Local School Board Amendments H.B. 139 Provides that when a vacancy occurs in the office of president or vice president of a local school board for any reason, a replacement shall be elected for the unexpired term; and requires attendance of a simple majority of the board members to constitute a qu... More... VA Signed into law 03/2005 P-12 School Board Salaries H.B. 1989 Increases the maximum salary to be paid members of the school board (affects the Salem board). Across the state, salaries range from $240 to $5300. http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?051+ful+CHAP0536... More... AR Signed into law 02/2005 P-12 Continuity of School Boards Protection Act H.B. 1266 An act to protect the continuity of school boards by amending the procedure for election of school boards following annexation; allows certain districts to return to at-large elections. http://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/ftproot/bills/2005/public/hb1266.pdf... More... IL Signed into law 01/2005 P-12 School Code H.B. 757 Amends the Children with Disabilities Article of the School Code to allow a child with a disability who has completed four years of high school to participate in the graduation ceremony and receive a certificate of completion under specified circumstances. Fur... More... Governance--School Boards--Training Governance--Site-Based Management Governance--State Boards/Chiefs/Agencies Health Health--Child Abuse Health--Nutrition Health--School Based Clinics or School Nurses Health--Suicide Prevention High School High School--Advanced Placement High School--College Readiness High School--Dropout Rates/Graduation Rates High School--Dual/Concurrent Enrollment High School--Early Colleges/Middle Colleges High School--Exit Exams High School--GED (General Education Development) High School--Graduation Requirements Instructional Approaches--Grading Practices Instructional Approaches--Homeschooling Instructional Approaches--Single-Sex Education Integrated Services/Full-Service Schools International Baccalaureate Leadership Leadership--District Superintendent Leadership--Principal/School Leadership Leadership--Principal/School Leadership--Certification and Licensure Leadership--Principal/School Leadership--Compensation and Diversified Pay Leadership--Principal/School Leadership--Evaluation and Effectiveness Leadership--Principal/School Leadership--Preparation Leadership--Principal/School Leadership--Tenure Mentoring/Tutoring Middle School Minority/Diversity Issues Minority/Diversity Issues--American Indian / Alaska Native / Native Hawaiian No Child Left Behind No Child Left Behind--Adequate Yearly Progress No Child Left Behind--Assessment No Child Left Behind--Choice/Transfer No Child Left Behind--Consequences for Schools No Child Left Behind--Finance No Child Left Behind--Parent Involvement No Child Left Behind--Reauthorization Issues/Waivers No Child Left Behind--Report Cards No Child Left Behind--School Support No Child Left Behind--Supplemental Services Online Learning--Digital/Blended Learning Online Learning--Virtual Schools/Courses P-16 or P-20 P-3 P-3 Child Care P-3 Early Intervention (0-3) P-3 Ensuring Quality P-3 Evaluation/Economic Benefits P-3 Family Involvement P-3 Finance P-3 Grades 1-3 P-3 Kindergarten--Full-Day Kindergarten P-3 Preschool P-3 Teaching Quality/Professional Development Parent/Family Parent/Family--Parent Rights Partnerships--University/School Postsecondary Postsecondary Accountability Postsecondary Accountability--Accreditation Postsecondary Accountability--Diploma Mills Postsecondary Affordability--Financial Aid Postsecondary Affordability--Tuition/Fees Postsecondary Affordability--Tuition/Fees--Prepd/College Savings Plans Postsecondary Affordability--Tuition/Fees--Undocumented Immigrants Postsecondary Faculty Postsecondary Faculty--Compensation Postsecondary Faculty--Intellectual Property Postsecondary Faculty--Teaching Assistants Postsecondary Finance Postsecondary Governance and Structures Postsecondary Institutions--Community/Technical Colleges Postsecondary Institutions--For-Profit/Proprietary Postsecondary Institutions--Private/Independent Postsecondary Online Instruction Postsecondary Participation--Access Postsecondary Participation--Admissions Requirements Postsecondary Participation--Affirmative Action Postsecondary Participation--Outreach Postsecondary Students--Disabled Postsecondary Students--Minority Postsecondary Success--Completion Postsecondary Success--Developmental/Remediation Postsecondary Success--Transfer/Articulation Private Schools Privatization Promotion/Retention Reading/Literacy Religion Religion--Prayer/Meditation Remediation (K-12) Rural Scheduling/School Calendar Scheduling/School Calendar--Day/Class Length Scheduling/School Calendar--Extended Day Programs Scheduling/School Calendar--Summer School Scheduling/School Calendar--Year School Safety School Safety--Bullying Prevention/Conflict Resolution School Safety--Code of Conduct School Safety--Expulsion/Suspension School Safety--No Child Left Behind--Safe Schools School Safety--Sexual Harassment and Assault School Safety--Special Education School Safety--Uniforms/Dress Codes School/District Structure/Operations School/District Structure/Operations--District Consolidation/Deconsolidation School/District Structure/Operations--Facilities School/District Structure/Operations--Food Service School/District Structure/Operations--Libraries School/District Structure/Operations--Personnel (Non-Teaching) School/District Structure/Operations--School Size School/District Structure/Operations--Shared Services School/District Structure/Operations--Transportation Service-Learning Special Education Special Education--Federal Law/Regulations Special Education--Finance Special Education--Placement Special Education--Transition Special Populations--Corrections Education Special Populations--Gifted and Talented Special Populations--Homeless Education Standards State Longitudinal Data Systems State Policymaking State Policymaking--Task Forces/Commissions STEM Student Achievement Student Achievement--Closing the Achievement Gap Students Students--Athletics/Extracurricular Activities Students--Mobility Students--Records/Rights Teaching Quality Teaching Quality--Certification and Licensure Teaching Quality--Certification and Licensure--Alternative Teaching Quality--Certification and Licensure--Highly Qualified Teachers Teaching Quality--Certification and Licensure--Natl. Bd. for Prof. Teach. Stds. Teaching Quality--Certification and Licensure--Special Education Teaching Quality--Certification and Licensure--State Prof. Standards Bds. Teaching Quality--Certification and Licensure--Substitute Teachers Teaching Quality--Compensation and Diversified Pay Teaching Quality--Compensation and Diversified Pay--Pay-for-Performance Teaching Quality--Compensation and Diversified Pay--Retirement/Benefits Teaching Quality--Evaluation and Effectiveness Teaching Quality--Induction Programs and Mentoring Teaching Quality--Paraprofessionals Teaching Quality--Preparation Teaching Quality--Professional Development Teaching Quality--Recruitment and Retention Teaching Quality--Recruitment and Retention--At-Risk Schools Teaching Quality--Recruitment and Retention--High-Needs Subjects Teaching Quality--Reduction in Force Teaching Quality--Teacher Attitudes Teaching Quality--Teacher Rights Teaching Quality--Tenure or Continuing Contract Teaching Quality--Unions/Collective Bargaining Teaching Quality--Unions/Collective Bargaining--Strikes Technology Technology--Computer Skills Technology--Devices/Software/Hardware Technology--Equitable Access Technology--Funding Issues Technology--Internet Safety Textbooks and Open Source